Friday, January 10, 1964—THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS-6

Honor Neumann on 70th Birthday; Israel's Oldest Citizen Nearing Biblical Age 120
Very few are privileged to
Malben's help is most wel- cial household grant from Mal-
Greeted by Johnson; Lowdermilk
reach the Biblical age of "a come since a metal worker in ben and the municipality of
hundred and twenty." But fewer Israel hardly earns enough to Herzlia.
Defends Israel's Water Project
still reach it in good health. feed eight people. His grand-
Varda rests in her bed most

NEW YORK, (JTA) — More
than 1,000 Zionist and com-
munal leaders attended the an-
nual dinner of the Zionist Or-
ganization of America in tribute
to Dr. Emanuel Neuman n,
chairman of the American sec-
tion of the Jewish Agency and
president of the World Union
of General Zionists, on the occa-
sion of his 70th birthday, Sun-
day.
The dinner, held at the New
York Hilton Hotel, was orig-
inally scheduled to be held on
Nov. 26, commemorating the
16th anniversary of the United
Nations resolution anctioning
the establishment of the Jewish
State. It - vas postponed because
of the tragic death of President
Kennedy. Due to illness, Rabbi
Max Nussbaum, president of the
ZOA, was unable to preside. In
his stead, the affair was pre-
sided over by Rabbi Irving
Miller, chairman of the Ameri-
can Zionist Council.
Addresses of greetings were
delivered by Israel Ambassador
Avraham Harman, Dr. Walter
C. Lowdermilk, Rabbi Daniel
Jeremy Silver, son of the late
Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, Mayor
Robert F. Wagner, Abraham
Goodman, chairman of the Neu-
mann Jubilee Committee and
Jack Lefkowitz, dinner chair-
man who opened the program.
Dr. Neumann was presented
with a citation in recognition of
his "Life of service and dedi-
cation to Israel and Jewry exem-
plifying the romance of the
Zionist ideal."
Messages of warm tribute to
Dr. Neumann lauding his more
than half a century of public
service and achievements in the
creation of the State of Israel
and for the welfare of the Jew•
ish people were received from
President Lyndon B. Johnson,
Israel President Zalman Shazar,
Israel Premier Le Vi Eshkol,
David Ben-Gurion, leading mem-
bers of both Houses of Con-
gress, Governor Nelson A.
Rockefeller, Moshe Sharett, for-
mer Israeli Premier and chair-
man of the Jewish Agency
executive, Dr. Nahum Gold-
mann, president of the World
Zionist Organization and Zion-
ist, and Jewish leaders from
more than 20 countries.
Dr. Lowdermilk, considered
the father of the plan for the
use of Jordan water to irri-
gate desert lands for the bene-
fit of both Jews and Arabs,
expressed his astonishment at
the rejection by the Arab
states of this project and the
threats of war against Isranl
over the imminent opening of
the Kinneret-Negev Water
System. Speaking at the din-
ner, he asserted that "the pro-
tests of the Arab states and
their threats of war against
Israel over the imminent
opening of the Kinneret Water
System, have an ironic quality.
"The Arab lands are not lack-
ing in water resources," Dr.
Lowdermilk said. "Syria, the
most vociferous of the Arab
states on this issue, has the
Orontes and the Euphrates and
additional rivers and streams.
Syria and the other Arab coun-
tries could today be partici-
pating with Israel in a great
regional program which would
assure to all an equitable distri-
bution of water resources; but
Syria torpedoed such a pro-
gram. The plan by the late Eric
Johnston was not implemented
because—in Eric Johr_ston's own
words—'Syria objected to the
project because it would bene-
fit Israel as well as the Arab
countries'," Dr. Lowdermilk
stated.
Reviewing his association with
the Jordan Valley Authority
project, Dr. Lowdermilk stated
that the project was originally
conceived not only by himself

but "also by Dr. Neumann and
his Zionist associates together
with a distinguished group of
engineers." He said that the
plan "was conceived as a great
regional project to benefit the
whole of Palestine, as well as
Trans-Jordan, Syria and Leba-
non."
President Johnson, in his mes-
sage of tribute, took note of
the fact that the testimonial for
Dr. Neumann w a s originally
scheduled to be held on the day
commemorating the 16th anni-
versary of the adoption of the
United Nations resolution sanc-
tioning the establishment of the
Jewish State." It is most appro-
priate," the President said, "that
the commemoration and t h e
testimonial to Dr. Neumann be
joined together, for Dr. Neu-
mann was one of those who
presided at the birth of the
new State."
Dr. Neumann, in response to
the addresses, lauded in warm
terms President Johnson recall-
ing "with deep appreciation his
longstanding friendship toward
the State of Israel and his con-
cern for her welfare." He ad-
dressed a strong plea to Presi-
dent Johnson to "take a fresh
look at the Middle East scene
and subject our current policies
to a close and critical view."

Candles Lit at Mt. Zion
by Orthodox Primate;
Honors 6 Million Jews

(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)

JERUSALEM — Archbishop
Iakovos, the Orthodox primate
of North and South America,
visited the Chamber of Destruc-
tion on Mount Zion Wednesday.
He lit six candles in memory
of the six-million European
Jews murdered by the Nazis.
He did so in the name of Ortho-
dox Patriarch Athenagoras.
The archbishop, accompanied
by Judge John Pappas and
Spyros Skouras, president of
Twentieth Century Fox, also
visited the Coenaculum, a
Christian holy place, and King
David's tomb.

Mrs. Varda Sabto, now a vener-
able 115, is within reach of it.
She is one of Israel's newest
citizens, for she only arrived
in the country during the past
year; in all likelihood, she is
also the country's oldest citizen.
By the same token she is the
oldest person ever referred for
assistance to Malben, the Joint
Distribution Committee welfare
program on behalf of aged, ill
and infirm immigrants to Israel.
According to the Israel Cen-
sus Bureau, there are 200 citi-
zens over the age of 100 — as
far as they know Mrs. Sabto is
the oldest. Varda Sabto was
born in Turkey in 1848. She has
been a widow for 62 years and
only the youngest of her 22
children, a son now 65, is still
alive. She lived with him in
Turkey until last year. When
her grandson, his wife and five
children went to Israel, Varda,
who had long yearned to go to
the Holy Land, followed them.
V a r da's eyes have not
dimmed in the least, but her
strength has ebbed a bit. Her
mind has remained clear and
alert. She remembers historic
events dating back to her
childhood. She was born just
a few years before the Cri-
mean War. Abraham Lincoln
was only a Congressman. Bis-
marck, then equally un-
known, had just been elected
to the Prussian Landtag. Na-
poleon III had recently re-
turned from Britain to rule
France.
JDC-Malben had offered to
admit Varda to one of its homes
for the aged where she would
be well cared for and where
she could find a number of con-
genial friends. But neither she
nor her grandson would hear
of it. "True," says Margalit, the
grandson's pretty 23-year-old
wife, "I have my hands full
raising five children and run-
ning a home, but she is my
husband's grandmother. She is
welcome to live with me till
a hundred and twenty, and be-
yond. We will not break the
family custom of having the
older people with us."

Anti-Zionist's Libel Suit for
$4,400,000 Dismissed in D.C.

WASHINGTON, (JTA)—Fed-
eral District Judge Alexander
Holtzoff ruled that describing
an attack on "political Zionist
planners for absolute rule via
one world government" as an
"anti-Semitic diatribe" was a
fair comment and threw out a
$4,400,000 libel suit against the
commentator.
During his testimony against
the Administration's trade ex-
pansion act, in August 1962,
Curtis B. Dall, a Washington in-
vestment banker, told the Sen-
ate Finance Committee that the
legislation was being pushed by
"political Zionist planners for
absolute rule, via one world
government." He added that the
Zionism "gained the power to
influence" and that "they have
got the gold in their hands—
notwithstanding that they have
had to gather it out of oceans of
blood and tears."
Columnist Jack Anderson,
writing in. Drew Pearson's "Mer-
ry-Go-Round," described this as
an anti-Semitic diatribe and
Dall sued for $4,400,000 dam-
ages contending that criticism
of "political Zionist planners"
was not anti-Semitic, there be-
ing a difference between Jews
and Zionists.
The defense submitted an af-
fidavit by Herman Edelsberg,
Washington director of the Anti
Defamation League office, who
said that of ten anti-Semitic
propaganda does not directly
identify Jews or Judaism as the
object. One of the commonest
forms of anti-Semitic attacks is

an attack on Zionism or Zion-
ists. This tactic is well known
in the general literature of bigo-
try, Mr. Edelsberg explained.

New Chief of Staff
of Israel Takes
Formal Command

JERUSALEM, (JTA) — Is-
rael's new Chief of Staff, Yitz-
hak Rabin, took formal com-
mand of the country's armed
forces in ceremonies at the
Prime Minister's Office here
during which he was also pro-
moted to the rank of Major Gen-
eral. He succeeds Maj. Gen. Zvi
Tzur, who resigned to engage
in study abroad and subse-
quently to take up a civilian
post.
After the installation cere-
monies, the new Chief of Staff
was received by President Zal-
man Shazar, and left for the
Staff Headquarters, where mili-
tary takeover ceremonies were
held.
In his first order of the day,
Maj. Gen. Rabin stressed the
need for increased alertness on
the part of Israel's Defense
Forces, and for more prepared-
ness and training so that they
could continue to be a deterrent
force capable of striking back
deep into enemy territory if
attacked. Special parades were
held at all army installations to
mark the event.

First baseman Steve Selsky
will play in the Pacific Coast
League next season.

mother receives a monthly
grant from a fund set up jointly
by the Welfare Ministry, the
Jewish Agency, JDC-Malben
and the local authorities. In
addition, the family gets a spe-

of the day, but at times she
strolls through the apartment
and plays with her great-grand-
children. She feels fine, she
tells her visitors. She is con-
tented. There is nothing she
wants except perhaps a
visit to Jerusalem and some
sightseeing.

ATTENTION

Synagogues and
Jewish Organizations

can be raised
easily by selling MANISCHEWITZ
MACAROONS and COOKIES...
strictly Kosher for Passover!
Don't delay—get started today)

$50.00 to $1,000

free delivery, free sales aids, incentives

Write for brochure to:
CARUTH'S, INC.
32-75 Steinway Street
Long Island City, N.Y.

MRS. VARDA SABTO

Women's Auxiliary of the

JEWISH NATIONAL FUND

Annual Donor Tea

TUESDAY, JAN 28th-12:30 p. m.
at TEMPLE ISRAEL,

17400 Manderson

PROGRAM

Guest Speaker

ELEAZAR LIPSKY

Best selling author and novelist
Pres. Jewish Telegraphic Agency

Guest Artists

DAN FROHMAN CHORAL
GROUP

PERPETUATE

your name,Your organ-
ization, and/or that of a loved one. Re-
claiming two dunams ($300) or more will
permanently inscribe a name on

THE PILLARS
OF COURAGE

"Pillars of Courage" circle of lofty columns on the
central square of Detroit's new development site,
Mishmar Hayarden - Gadot on the northern Galilee
frontier of Israel, will be launched at the donor tea.

MRS. MORRIS KUTINSKY
President

MRS. PEARL NOSAN

Chairman Fund-Raising

For Reservations Call
DI 1-1874 — 342-4797
UN 4-2767